Polar Bears
by Frances Desmarais
Summary: It's been five days. Five days with nothing to eat, no one to talk with and just a thing layer of clothing protecting his body from the cold arctic wind. Matthew continued walking on the snow covered place, the whole place white, with nothing in sight, but only the white ground he was standing on and the blue ocean with no end in sight.


It's been five days. Five days with nothing to eat, no one to talk with and just a thing layer of clothing protecting his body from the cold arctic wind. Matthew continued walking on the snow covered place, the whole place white, with nothing in sight, but only the white ground he was standing on and the blue ocean with no end in sight.

No trees, no hills, no living creature except him.

He was hungry, and tired, and he couldn't feel his fingers. There were small patches of red, white and yellow on his toes. He made a conclusion that he had a first degree frostbite, or a frostnip. His toes were numb and it's hard walking with numb toes.

He couldn't remember how he ended up here, in the land of white. The only thing he could remember was that he was on a plane, with his papa on the way to Hawaii for a vacation. His papa had promised to take him to Hawaii since he was a kid and now they are finally going, after a few years. Matthew was so excited he couldn't sleep the day before, tossing and turning on his bed thinking about how great it would be when he finally gets there. He imagined himself on the beach, getting a tan, occasionally checking out hot chicks in bikini, but never have the guts to actually go and talk to them, unlike his papa. He could also imagine that his papa would be running around, flirting with random girls, buying them drinks or offering 'free swimming lessons'. He chuckled at that thought and glanced at the luggage by his bed. He had packed a few days before, wondering what he should bring and what he should not bring. He had put his best swimming trunks in his luggage and a few bottles of sunblock, since he's quite sensitive to the sun and would get sun burn if he stayed too long under it. He was sun burnt once, when he was visiting his brother in California during summer, and it was bad.

He shielded his eyes from the arctic sun and kept walking, his stomach was growling loudly, he could feel the emptiness in his stomach, and it was hurting him really bad. He wondered where the other are, including his papa. It could be possible that they had a plane crash, but there were no remains of the plane in sight and no other people. It's almost like he just magically appeared here.

He huffed some hot air to his numb fingers and rubbed them together, hoping to get them warmed up. He pulled wrapped his arms around himself when a particular cold wind blew across. He was lucky that he had put on something warm on the plane, his papa had told him to put something on, since they were flying over the pole and it will be cold. He told his papa that it's pretty ridiculous since there are heaters in the plane and the cold from the pole won't affect them. However, his papa just chuckled and threw him a few additional sweaters. Now, he's glad that he actually put them on, or else he would have frozen to death.

He continued walking and eventually reached the end of the bare white ground and to the edge of the land where the ocean was. He sat on the cold ground and stared at the ocean, the sound of the waves calmed him down a bit. He started to think about his papa, whether he's safe or not, and he started to think about his loud, obnoxious brother, the gigantic burger loving idiot. He thought about the times when they were small, he was always the weaker one, whereas Alfred was the stronger one, well he was the older brother after all. Even if Alfred was obnoxious, and loud, and annoying, and pretty dumb sometimes, he would still protect Matthew and stay with him no matter what. He remembered that there was one time they went to a summer camp, and they got lost in the woods during the scavenger hunt. Matthew was crying the whole time and Alfred was the one who literally slapped some sense in him and was the one who looked for food and made the fire to keep them warm during the cold nights. And they were eventually found a few days later, and got scolded by the camp leader, for not following instructions. But it was a pretty unforgettable experience for them.

Matthew felt a tear sliding down his cheek and realized that he had been crying. He quickly wiped it away and let out a sigh. It's been quite some times since he last saw Alfred, the last time was when he went visit him in California and got sun burnt. And then, they never saw each other again. They got separated because of their parent's divorce. In the end, Matthew ended up following his papa and Alfred with his dad. His dad took Alfred away from his papa and Matthew, to California, leaving Matthew and his papa in their old flat in London. He was really upset that they had to be separated, he cried for days and couldn't sleep for weeks, so his papa finally bought him a ticket to fly to California to visit his brother on his own. Matthew was really thankful for it, they were tight on money at that moment, and for the purpose of letting Matthew visit his brother, his papa had to work extra just to get enough money to buy him the tickets. He was both excited and nervous, since it was his first time away from his papa. However, he enjoyed his visit. Alfred showed him a lot of places, took him out for amazing food, and just enjoyed each other's presence.

Matthew was pulled back to reality when he heard a particular loud crack under him. Then all of a sudden, he was falling and in icy old water. He flailed his arms around, trying to grab onto something to prevent himself from plunging deeper and deeper. His legs were kicking and there was no ground for him to step on. His heart was beating extremely fast and the cold water was piercing his skin like a thousand knives. He lungs felt like they were going to explode and he was almost out of breath. He was plunging deeper and deeper into the ocean and the only thing he could saw was the ray of sunlight that penetrated in the water and endless blue. The surface was so far away from him now, he was trying to swim to the surface but he was so cold, he couldn't move anymore, it felt like his muscles was frozen and the only thing he could do was fall deeper and deeper. Then, the image of his family flashed across his head, the image of his papa, smiling at him, his dad, praising him for getting an A in his French test, and his brother treating him Mcdonalds when they were in California.

_Am I going to die?_

Matthew let out something that sounded like a scream and a breath and felt his eyelids growing heavier, his lungs constricting painfully due to the lack of oxygen. Just before he closed his eyes, he saw something swimming towards him.

…

"Mama, what's that?" a little polar bear asked his mother, looking curiously at the creature his mother just brought back from the sea. "It doesn't look like a seal to me. Is it edible?" he asked again, sniffing the creature carefully. "He doesn't smell like a seal to me."

The mother polar bear pulled the creature inside the cave they call a home and placed it on the corner. The creature had shiny blonde hair, which turned a shade darker due to being in the water, and he had something on his nose, and it reflected under the sunlight. The creature didn't have fur on him, and he didn't have a tail. The creature also smell like something sweet, unlike most seals which smell like fish and salt, and it's still breathing.

"I don't know, sweetheart. But whatever it is, I don't think it's edible." mother polar bear told her son and pulled the creature against her, hoping to warm it up since he looked cold. His lips had turned blue and he was pale. His breathing was shallow, almost unnoticable. The little polar bear went up to his mother and snuggled close to her, staring at the creature. "It's a pretty odd creature, don't you think, mama?"

"Yes, sweetheart, and I don't think he will do us any harm."

"So... you mean that we can keep him?" the little polar bear asked, beaming while jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh goody, I can have someone to play with!"

…

"_Mattie! Come look! There's a beehive on the tree!" _

"_It looks dangerous, let's go back to papa and daddy..." _

"_No, I want to see the inside of the hive. Miss Herdevary said that there's honey inside the hive. I want to see the honey."_

"_But bees sting people, Alfred... Let's go."_

"_No, I want to see." _

"_Alfred!"_

"_Look, Mattie! Honey! Ouch!"_

"_Alfred!"_

"_Ouch, it hurts! Get away from me, stupid bees! Ouch!"_

"_Alfred! Be careful!"_

"_Ouch! Get away, Mattie, they're coming at you too!"_

"_Ah! No! Help! Ouch!"_

"_Mattie!"_

"_Help!"_

…

Matthew sat up suddenly and coughed the water out from his lungs. He looked around him and saw that he was in a place that looks like a cave and there's a thing beside him. A warm, furry, _breathing_ thing.

Matthew turned around slowly and saw that there were two polar bears beside him. An adult and a cub. He tried not to scream and run away, instead he got up slowly, trying not to wake the bears and sneaked out. The polar bear stirred and opened its eyes. Matthew screamed and broke into a run. The polar bear started chasing him. He was screaming and running as best as he could with frozen toes, but the polar bear eventually outrun him and blocked his way out from the cave. Matthew looked at the bear, heart thumping wildly in his chest. He backed away slowly, afraid that he might anger the bear and afraid that the bear might eat him. As he slowly back away, the bear followed. Suddenly he tripped over something and fell on his butt. He saw the cub in front of him and he screamed some more. He fell to his knees and covered his head with his arms. "P-Please, don't eat me. I'm all bones, I don't taste good. Please don't eat me..." he muttered, half to himself and half to the bears which were looking at him curiously.

"Mama, he can talk." the little polar bear said to his mother, pointing at Matthew with his nose. Matthew raised his head and stared at the polar bear with wide eyes and blinked several times. "Yes, sweetheart, he can." the mother answered, nudging the polar bear gently with her nose. The smaller bear walked over to him and examined him with curious eyes. "Are you a seal?" he asked.

Matthew blinked a few times and shook his head. "No." he answered.

He must be crazy, he must be. Maybe his brain got a bit funny after he almost drowned in the icy ocean and started to hallucinate. There's no way he's talking to a polar bear. There's just no way on earth.

"Polar bears can't talk..." he blurted out suddenly.

"Now that's just rude..." the little polar bear said, head tilting to one side. "Who told you that bear can't talk? We can talk just fine. Do you think we're just some stupid furry animal living on ice?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah... that's what the books and documentaries said..."

"Well your... whatever those are, are butts. It's not true."

"Now now, sweetheart, calm down. Don't be rude." the mother polar bear said, walking towards Matthew. "May I know what's your name, darling?"

"M-Matthew..." Matthew answered, looking up at the mother polar bear's large body.

"That's a nice name."

"What are you doing here... uh... what's your name again?" the little polar bear asked.

"Matthew. I don't know. I don't remember how I got here, I'm afraid."

"Well, anyway, do you want to play with me?"

Matthew looked at the cub.

_Play? As in... wrestle and stuff?_

"What do you want to play?" Matthew asked.

"I don't know. You suggest something. I'm so tired of playing wrestle with the others. It's getting boring." he answered, pouting. "And I always lose. It's not fair."

Matthew smiled and got up to his feet. "Well then, I can teach you a new game. It's called 'Tag'."

…

Matthew and Kumajirou lied panting on the ice cold ground. Matthew had asked the name of the bear but he told him he doesn't have one and his mother always calls him 'sweetheart' so Matthew decided to name him. The game just now was fun, they had spent hours chasing each other round and round the cave. Kumajirou could run really fast while Matthew had some difficulties with his numb toes. Kumajirou was considerate, he would slow down deliberately to let Matthew catch up with him so that he could chase him back. They had a meal of fishes before they went out to play, Matthew was a bit disgusted by the seal that was brutally killed in front of him, with the flesh and the blubber showing. But to gain his energy and fill his hurting stomach, he ate it, and found it to be quite delicious. He also ate some fishes caught by the mother polar bear. Matthew had always liked sushi so eating raw fish was not a problem to him.

"That was fun, Matthew. Is this what you humans do when you're bored?" Kumajirou asked, rolling over to put his head on Matthew's chest. Matthew nodded breathlessly and stared at the sky. He stopped thinking about his papa for a while when he played with Kumajirou just now and now that they had stopped, the image of his papa appeared in his head again and he could feel the tears stung the back of his eyes.

"Matthew? Are you ok?" Kumajirou asked, voice concerned. Matthew shook his head and patted on his head. "I'm fine, Kumajirou. I just miss my papa that's all."

Kumajirou nodded and lay silently next to Matthew.

…

"What's your home like?" Kumajirou asked one day when mother polar bear went out to look for food. Matthew thought for a while. "Hm... it's nice, I suppose."

"Tell me." Kumajirou said, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Well, I live in a place with plenty of tall buildings..."

"Taller than mama? Because mama's really tall." Kumajirou questioned.

"Yeah, a lot taller. Taller than you, and me and your mama add together." Matthew answered, standing up and lift Kumajirou above his head. Kumajirou squealed and laughed.

"That's really tall." he giggled when he was being put back down on the ground. "And what's it like?"

"It's noisy... with sounds of cars and people and planes that occasionally fly by... Unlike here, it's really quite here."

"Wow, that's amazing. I want to go to your home sometimes." Kumajirou said.

"Yeah, I'd like to show you too... but I don't think you can adapt there. You need the cold, no? My place is not that cold. It is, sometimes, but not like here."

"Oh." Kumajirou said, voice a bit sad.

"Don't be sad..."

"But I really want to see your home." Kumajirou muttered, pouting.

"You can. I can show you pictures, though I don't have them now."

"That's sad."

"Yeah..."

…

It has been a few months Matthew was here, in the cold icy land with Kumajirou and his mother. He was getting a bit homesick, and he didn't think that he could eat seal blubber or raw fish anymore. His stomach would get upset sometimes eating those. He really wanted to go home, to leave here, but he didn't want to leave the two polar bears that saved his life. He stared at the sky and sighed loudly.

"What's wrong?" a voice behind him asked, he turned around and saw mother polar bear behind him. He shook his head as she sat down beside him.

"I just miss my home, that's all."

Mother polar bear nodded, and placed her nose on Matthew's lap. "I understand."

"I really want to go back but I just can't leave you both here..."

"I understand what you're feeling right now, Matthew, darling. But you have to go back, to your place. It's not suitable for you to keep on staying here, You need to go back to your home, to your family."

"It's just hard. I don't know anymore." Matthew sighed.

"I just wish I could bring you both with me but... how can two polar bears live in a small flat in London? It's just not...right." Matthew said, resting his head on his knees.

Just then, the sound of a helicopter made Matthew lift his head to look at the sky. Sure enough, there's a helicopter flying past them. Matthew's heart started to race as he looked at the helicopter and back to mother polar bear, wondering if he should stop the helicopter or ignore it and stay here. Mother polar bear nodded and that's the encouragement he needed. He took off, running after the helicopter, waving his arms and screaming. The helicopter seemed to notice him and it slowly began to descend from the sky and landed on the land.

The person inside the helicopter quickly came out and wrapped a blanket around Matthew. Matthew was so glad and at the same time sad as he would be leaving the polar bears that saved his life and probably never see them again. He turned around and saw mother polar bear smiling at him, telling him to go on. Then, a small figure ran towards him, it was Kumajirou.

"Matthew! Matthew! Don't leave me here! Stay with me, Matthew!" Kumajirou screamed, tears running down his cheeks. Matthew knelt down and Kumajirou ran into his arms, nuzzling him with his face. "Please don't go..."

"Stand back, boy, that polar bear is dangerous." the man who rescued him, aimed his gun at Kumajirou, telling Matthew to stand back.

"No, please, he won't hurt me, he's my friend..." Matthew explained, shielding Kumajirou form the man with his body. "Just one minute ok?"

"But he's a polar bear!" the man said, aiming the gun at Kumajirou. "A polar bear that will bite your head of and dance around in your intestines."

"No, he won't. Kumajirou's my friend, right?"

Matthew turned to look at Kumajirou and was shocked to see that friendly glint in Kumajirou's eyes were gone and he was looking at Matthew blankly, head tilted to one side. "Kumajirou?"

Kumajirou said nothing but gave a little growl and squirmed away from his arms, walking away to his mother that's nearby.

Matthew was confused and sad. Does this means that after all, this was just an illusion? Another hallucination? Does this means that it's all made up? That bears don't talk and he had gone crazy? He watched the polar bears walked away, his heart breaking into a million pieces.

It's not real, he doesn't have a polar bear friend and he spent all these months in the north pole, living in his little dream of polar bears. And there's no mother polar bear and no Kumajirou, just two polar bears who he thought were his friends.

"Let's go, boy." the man said, putting a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the helicopter. Matthew nodded and followed him, after glancing at the pair of bears walking away from him.

…

"Daddy! Daddy! Let's go see the polar bears!" a little boy cried, pulling at Matthew's hands towards the room where they put the polar bears. Matthew nodded and let himself being pulled by the boy.

They were standing in front of the glass, watching the polar bears swimming around in the water and sleeping on the artificial north pole. Matthew's son was looking at the bear with fascination in his gigantic eyes, ooh-ing an aah-ing at the bears when they swam past him.

Matthew was smiling gently at his son's actions and then something caught his eyes. A polar bear in the far end of the artificial north pole. It was... waving at him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, very sure that the lights were playing tricks on his eyes, there's no way a polar bear could wave at him.

"Daddy, I'm going to see the penguins." his son announced and skipped away to the penguin section. "Be careful!" Matthew called after his son, smiling as he watched the small boy walked away.

"Matthew!"

His breath hitched when he heard someone calling him, he turned around and saw no one. He was confused and shook his head, telling himself that it's just in his head and there's no way...

"Matthew! Over here!"

Matthew looked in front and was shocked that there was a polar bear in front of him, smiling and waving at him. Matthew's jaw dropped open and he struggled to form words.

"K-Kumajirou?"

* * *

**Ok, so this is by far the weirdest fic I've ever written. Well, anyway, hope you enjoyed this weird little fic.**

**:)**


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